1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector for an optical cable having at least one glass fiber.
2. Discussion of Background
In comparison with conventional electrical signal transmission, optical data transmission offers a number of advantages. The most important include, inter alia, the following:
high degree of immunity to interference in an electromagnetically contaminated environment;
high bandwidth and high data rates;
low space requirement;
low power requirement.
Optical signal transmission is therefore being used ever more widely. An important field is the communication (e.g. between EDP systems) on a local level (local area networks).
However, a problem in the realization of optical data links continues to be the plug connection of optical cables. In manufacturing terms, optical connectors are much more demanding than electrical connectors and accordingly they are also much more expensive.
Moreover, optical plug connections are sensitive to contamination of the contact surfaces.
A largely unsolved problem hitherto is the construction of an optical multiple connector. While electrical multiple connectors with a large number of parallel lines are inexpensive and are highly reliable, there is nothing similar in the optical field. It is therefore usually necessary to seek the assistance of fast multiplexers to be able to achieve despite this a kind of parallel connection via optical lines.
As already mentioned, the low space requirement is an important advantage of optical communication. While a (conventional) coaxial cable has a diameter of several mm, that of a glass fiber lies in the region of 1/10 mm. In view of the endeavors being made in the direction of integrated optics, an enormous space-saving potential can be expected for optical communication. A summary of the integrated optical components currently available can be found, e.g. in the article "Bauelemente der integrierten Optik: Eine Einfuhrung" [Components in integrated optics: an introduction], W. Sohler, Laser und Optoelektronik, No. 4, 1986, pp 323-337.